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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 40.6978, -122.8225

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in California. Against other California sites it stands out most in spring (77th percentile) and lowest in fall (61st). Biggest nearby bee crops: grapes (nearest 0.2 mi E). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 97th, summer 43rd, fall 30th)
  • California: 71st percentile (spring 77th, summer 69th, fall 61st)
  • Klamath Mountains/California High North Coast Range: 87th percentile (spring 91st, summer 33rd, fall 85th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across California, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Grapes: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Grapes: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs, Snowberry; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021-2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.